Machine for making link mesh



Jan. 1 1613 376 927 R. H. BERKLEY Y MACHINE FOR MAKING LINK MESH I FiledMarch 9. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l" m am ATTORN EYS Jan. 1 4 927 R. H.BERKLEY MACHINE FOR MAKING LINK MESH Filed March 9. 1926 2 shets-sneez 2INVENTOR filfiard fifzerkley BY I i) 0 Maw ATTORNEYS ill Patented Jan.4, 1927.

STATES inane r'rur RICHARD HATLE'Y BERKLEY, F PLAINVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIG'NOR TO "WHIT- ING 8t DAVIS COMPANY, A CORPORATIGN OFMASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING- LINK MESH.

Application filed March 9, 1926. Serial No. 93,375.

This invention relates to machines for making link mesh fabric of thetype commonly designated fish-scale mesh, which consists of amultiplicity of rings, connected by plate members of cruciform shape.Such mesh is widely used in the manufacture of articles of jewelry, suchas ladies hand bags, and as ordinarily made, the plates have planesurfaces of considerable extent which lie somewhat above the plane ofthe rings. lVhen these fiat surfaces are polished, the mesh has anattractive appearance which makes its use highly esirahle in some typesof articles due to the reflection of light from these surfaces.

I have found that the appearance of the mesh may be considerably alteredby appropriately treating the flat surfaces of the plate members, insuch manner that the p ates no longer have plane reflecting suras, butthese surfaces are broken or irregu r, due to small projections thereon.Such mesh has a less glittering appearance than one in which the platesare smooth, and for some purposes the new mesh is preferable to the old.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a machine formaking this new type of mesh fabric, and it includes mechanism foracting on the plate members to alter their appearance prior to theirintroduction into the mesh.

In this new machine. supplies of rings and plate members in the form ofstrips of metal are provided and feeding devices are used which advancethe strips with a step by step mot-ion to devices which sever separaterings and plates from the strips, interlink the plates with the ringsand with other rings at the edge of the piece of fabric previously made,and close the legs of the plates to lock the plates and rings together.In this feeding movement, the strip of plates passes suitable mechanism.brought into action at each period of rest in the step by step movement,and operating on the flat surfaces of the plates to alter theirappearance. mechanism operates in appropriate time relation to the otherdevices of the machines, and acts on the plates in the stripsuccessively to produce the desired result. The machine accordinglyutilizes plate material of the usual kind, but changes the appearance ofthe individual plates prior to their introduction into the mesh.

This

F or a better understanding of the invention, reference will now be madeto the accompanying drawings in whichlFig. l is a horizontal plan viewof the machine; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a piece of mesh made accordingto the invention; Fig. 3 a view of certain parts of the operatingmechanism including the treating mechanism; Figs. 4: and 5 are views ofthe strips of links; Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the dies.

Referring to the drawings the table of the machine is shown at 1. Asupport for holding a piece of mesh is mounted in a vertical positionupon the table 1,'and consists of a stationary mandrel 2 and a rotatablesleeve 3 enclosing a part of the mandrel. A piece of mesh is heldbetween the mandrel and the sleeve, and the sleeve is rotated step bystep to advance the piece of mesh, and at each step in the movement amesh forming mechanism operates to add additional links at the edge ofthe piece of mesh. The sleeve 3 is advanced by means of a pawl 5 whichengages ratchet teeth a on the sleeve, the pawl being mounted on avertical pin 6 rigidly connected to an arm 7 which is engaged by aspring 8. The pawl is operated to move th sleeve step by by a horizontalrod 9. one end of which engages a cam 10 mounted upon a power shaft 11The cam, acting through the rod and pawl advances the sleeve one step,and the spring 8 returns the pawl to normal position in which positionthe member 7 is stopped by contacting with the frame of the machine asshown at 12. A retaining pawl 13 secured to a stationary part of theframe engages the ratchet teeth and prevents backward movement of thesleeve.

The ring links and the plate links are fed to the machine in the form ofcontinuous strips as shown in Figs. 4: and 5. The strip of rings iswound upon a spool at one side of the mandrel andthe strip is ledthrough a guide 21 to the mesh forming mechanism. The strip of links iswound upon a spool 22 -at the opposite side of the mandrel and isdirected to the mesh for1ning mechanism through a guide 23. A springpressed feeding finger 25 engages the strip of rings in the guide 21,and this finger is operable by the rod 26 and cam 27 mounted upon theshaft 11, to advance the strip step by step, and thus present a ring tothe mesh forming mechanism in each step. The finger is carried by apivoted bell crank 28. A spring 29 holds one arm of the hell crank incontact with the rod 26, and the rod in contact with the cam 27. Thestrip of plates is fed to the mesh forming mechanism by a feeding finger25 similar to that which feeds the strip of rings and carried by a bellcrank 28, moved by a rod 30 and cam 31 on drive shaft 11.

At each operation of the feeding devices for the strips of rings andplates appropriate mechanism operates to sever a ring and a plate fromthe strips, to link ring and plate together and to interlock the platewith the piece of mesh held by the support. This mechanism includes areciprocable hollow plunger 35, one end of which is held in contact witha cam 36, mounted upon the power shaft 11, by a spring 3?. An anvil 38,which is carried by a rod 39, co-operates with the plunger 35, the rod39 extending toward the power shaft and being held in contact with a cam40 thereon by a spring 411. The rod 39 passes through a block a2, andhas a pin 43 which projects through a slot 45 in the block. This slothas a portion which extends parallel to the rod 39, and another portionwhich extends at an angle to the rod. As the rod is reciprocatcd by itscam, the pin slides in the slot, and when the pin enters the angularportion of the slot the shaft is rocked, and the anvil moved out ofalignment with the plunger 85.

The plunger 85 is moved by the cam 36 and engages the end plate of thestrip which projects beyond the end of the guide 23, and the edge of thehollow plunger cooperates with the edge of the guide 23 to sever theplate 50 from the strip. In this same movement, the hollow plungerforces the severed plate over the anvil 38, and the plate is bent intothe form of a staple. The cam 40 now moves the shaft and anvil 38causing the anvil to recede from the plunger a short distance, when theshaft rocked by reason of the pin 43 sliding in the angular portion ofthe slot 45, and the anvil is positioned out of alignment with theplunger. The staple shaped plate remains in the hollow plunger.

The hollow plunger is now further moved by its cam toward the piece ofmesh on the support. At the end of this movement, one of the fourprojecting ends of the staple shaped plate enters a ring 51, whichprojects from the guide 21, and the three other proj-ecting ends arelinked with three rings of the piece of mesh already formed and held bythe support. In this further movement of the plunger, one edge of itco-operates with the end of the guide 21, and severs the ring 51 fromthe strip of rings in the guide with a shearing action.

lVithin the hollow plunger 35 is a die rod 60, the end 61 of which isheld in engagement with a cam 62 on shaft 11 by a spring 63. The cam 62moves this die rod concurrently with the hollow plunger, when the lattermoves to sever the link 50, to shape the link by co-action with theanvil, and to position the staple shaped link with its four projectingends linked with the ring 51 and with rings of the piece of mesh on thesupport. Positioned within the mandrel, is a die member 65 (Fig. 3)which is carried by a rod 66, the end of which is connected to a bellcrank 67 pivoted on the frame. One end of this bell crank is inengagement with. av cam 68 mounted upon the power shaft 11. vVhen thestaple shaped plate is positioned with one of its projecting endsextending through the ring link 51, and the other three projecting endsextending through three rings of the piece of mesh, the cam 62 operatesto move the die rod 60 relatively to the plunger 35, and the cam 68operates, through the bell crank, to retract the die member 65. Thismovement of the die rod 60 expels the staple shaped link from the end ofthe hollow plunger 35, and as the die rod and the die-member approacheach other, the ends of the plate are turned inwardly therebysutliciently to cause an interlock between the plate and the rings.

As the strip of plates is fed to the link forming mechanism, each plateis subjected to treatment for breaking up the continuity of the bodyportion of the plate. For this purpose a block 70 is mounted on the baseof the machine at one side of the guide 23, ind a block 71 is mounted onthe opposite side of the guide. \Vithin the blocks are coacting diemembers 72 and 73. The die member 72 lies within a recess in block '70and is adjustable in position by means of an adjustment screw 74. Thedie73 lies in a recess in block 71, and has a reduced end 75 whichextends out of the end of the recess and a coil spring' 76 acts upon thedie 73 to hold it in ret acted position.

In the operation of the machine, the plat-es in the strip are broughtsuccessively into alignment with the dies by the feeding device and atthe proper instant, a blow delivered to the die 73, causing it to act onthe plate in front of it. For this purpose a hammer 80 is provided,slidably mounted in a sleeve 81 which is mounted on a bracket 82 on thebase of the machine. A collar 86 is secured to the hammer, and thiscollar is engaged by the projecting end 87 of a rod 88. The opposite endof the rod 88 is acted on by a cam 89 mounted upon the power shaft '11..The end of the hammer which lies within the sleeve, is of reduceddiameter and is encircled by a coil spring 83. This spring tends toforce the hammer toward the die 73 and also holds the rod 88 in contactwith the cam 89. When the cam 89, acting through the rod 88 permits thehammer to be moved toward the die 73, such movement of the hammer iscaused by the spring 83.

The exterior surface of the sleeve 81 is screw threaded, and the sleeveis adjustably held in the bracket 82 by the nuts 84: and 85. Byadjusting the position of the sleeve in the bracket, the con'ipressionof the spring 83 may be regulated, thus permitting a control of theforce of the blow delivered by the hammer. The reduced end of the hammermay extend beyond the end of the sleeve, and lock nuts may be placedthereon. These nuts contact with the end of the sleeve in the diestriking l'lOVGll'lOilt of the hammer so as to limit this movcnn Bythese adjustments the force with winch the dies strike the plates can.be determi ed with that precision required in the mak' g of mesh whichis to be used in articles jewelry.

The machine operates in step by step movements and at each step, a ringand a plate are advanced to the link forming mechanism and interlockedwith the piece of mesh held by the support. In the ad vance of the stripof plates, at each step, one plate is brought into alignment with thedie members. In the period of restbetween the steps, the plate which isin alignment with the dies, is struck by the dies. As the strip isadvanced, the cam 89 holds the hamn'ier away from the die against theaction of the spring 83, and the coil spring 76 retracts the a die 73 toallow the strip to move between the dies. During the period of rest ofthe strip, the cam 78 allows the spring 83 to force the hammerdownwardly to cause the 'dies to strike the plate which is in alignmenttherewith. The cam then moves th rod and the hammer away from the diesand holds them in this position until the strip has again moved to bringanother plate into alignment with the dies.

The dies are removable. from their sockets so that they may beinterchanged with dies of different designs thus permitting changes inthe appearance of the finished mesh. One form of the dies is shown in 6.These dies execute the design shown in Figs. and 5 which consists of arelatively large raised surface, positioned centrally of the body ofeach plate surrounded by a nuniber of smallor raised surfaces. Otherdesigns n'iay be formed by dies of appropriate shape.

I claim:

1. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a support for a piece ofmesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, feedersfor feeding the rings and the plates to the mesh forming mechanism, anda de vice operable to alter the surface of each plate as it is advancedto the mesh forming mechanism.

2. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a support for a piece ofmesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, a feederfor feeding the rings to the mesh forming iiichauism, a feeder forfeeding the plates in the form of a continuous strip to the mesh formingmechanism and a device operable to alter the surface of eachplatc in thestrip as the latter is being fed to the mesh forming mechanism. i

3. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a support for a piece ofmesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, a feederfor feeding the rings to the mesh forming mechanism,a feeder for feedingthe plates in the form of a continuous strip to the mesh formingmechanism and a device for altering the surface of each plate, thisdevice including a pair of members disposed on opposite sides of thestrip and operable to treat each plate in the strip.

a. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a sup port for a pieceof mesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, afeeder for feeding the rings to the mesh forming mechanism, a feeder forfeeding the plates in the form of a continuous strip to the mesh formingmechanism with a step by step movement, and a device for altering thesurface of each plate,this device including a pair of members disposedon opposite sides of the strip and operable in timed relation to thestep by step movement of the strip to act upon each plate in the stripwhen it is at rest.

5. A machine for making link-mesh fabric consisting of interlocked ringsand cruci form plates, which comprises the combination of a support fora piece of mesh, mesh forming mechanism disposed adjacent the support,feeding mechanism for feeding plates in the form of a continuous stripto the mesh forming mechanism, feeding mechanism for supplying rings tothe mesh forming mechanism, a device operable on the plates in the stripsuccessively to alter their appearance, and power driven devices formoving the support and operating the feeding mechanisms with a step bystep movement, and for operating the mesh forming mechanism and theplate altering device in the periods of rest of such movement.

6. A machine for making linlemesh fabric consisting of interlocked ringsand cruci form plates, which comprises the combination of a support fora piece of mesh, mesh forming mechanism disposed adjacent the support,feeding mechanism for feeding plates in the form of a continuous stripto lit) the mesh forming mechanism, mechanism for severing the platesfrom the strip, feeding mechanism for supplying rings to the meshforming mechanism, a device operable on the plates in the stripsuccessively to alter their appearance, and power driven devices formoving the support and operating the feeding mechanisms with a step bystep movement, and for operating the plate severing mechanism, the meshforming mechanism and the plate altering device in the periods of restof such movement.

7. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a support for a piece ofmesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, a feederfor feeding the rings to the mesh forming mechanism, a feeder forfeeding the plates in the form of a continuous strip .to the meshforming mechanism in step by step movement, a guide for supporting thestrip through which the strip is fed, a device for altering theappearance of the ,plates consisting of a pair of co-acting membersdisposed on opposite sides of the guide in a position such that a plateis brought into alignment with the members at each feeding movement ofthe strip, one of these members being held stationary relative to theguide and the other being movable toward and away from the stationarymember, this movable member being held normally away from the stationarymember to permit the feeding of the strip between the members, andmechanism operable to move the movable member toward the stationarymember whereby each plate in the strip which is brought into alignmentwith the members is acted upon by the members.

8. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a sup port for a pieceof mesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, afeeder for feeding the rings to the mesh forming mechanism, a feeder forfeeding the plates in the form of a continuous strip to the mesh formingmechanism in step by step movement, a guide for supporting the stripthrough which the strip is fed, a device for altering the appearance ofthe plates consisting of a pair of co-acting members disposed onopposite sides of the guide in a position such that a plate brought intoalignment with the members at each. feeding movement of the strip, oneof these memhers being held stationary relative to the guide, means foradjusting the position of this stationary member, the other member beingmovable toward and away from the stationary member, this movable memberbeing held normally away from the stationary member to permit thefeeding of the strip between the members, a hammer held normally awayfrom the movable member and mechanism operable upon the hammer to causethe hammer to strike the movable member to move that member toward thestationary member whereby the plate which is then in alignment with themembers is acted upon by the members, this mechanism being adjustable todetermine the force with which the hammer strikes the movable member ofthe treating device.

9. A machine for making link-mesh consisting of interlocked rings andcruciform plates, comprising the combination of a support for a piece ofmesh, mesh forming mechanism positioned adjacent the support, a feederfor feeding the rings to the mesh forming mechanism, a feeder forfeeding the plates in the form of a continuous strip to the mesh formingmechanism in step by step movement, a guide for supporting the stripthrough which the strip is fed, a device for altering the appearance ofthe plates, consisting of a pair of co-acting members disposed onopposite sides of the guide in a position such that a plate is broughtinto alignment with the members at each feeding movement of the strip,one of these members being held stationary relative to the guide, meansfor adjusting the position of this stationary member, the other memberbeing movable toward and away from the stationary member, this movablemember being held normally away from the stationary member to permit thefeeding of the strip between the members, a hammer held normally awayfrom the movable member, mechanism operable upon the hammer to cause thehammer to strike the movable member to move that member toward thestationary member whereby the plate which is then in alignment. with themembers is acted upon by-the members, this mechanism being adjustable todetermine the force with which the hammer strikes the movable member,and adjustable means for limiting the stroke of the hammer in itsmovement toward the movable member of the treating device.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

RICHARD HATLEY BERKLEY.

